Archaeologists dispatched to newly-unearthed site in southeast Iran

TEHRAN – Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization has dispatched a cluster of archaeologists to the outskirts of Fahraj in Kerman Province, where a wave of recent tremendous sandstorms discovered vestiges of what believed to be an ancient site.

“A team of archaeologists has been dispatched to Fahraj in order to determine whether the site was used to be a necropolis or an inhabitance,” CHTN quoted Mohammad Vafaei, the director of the CHTHO provincial department, as saying on Saturday.

The CHTHO officials have yet to confirm the antiquity of the site until the surveys conclude whether the area or the excavated objects are of historical value.

Vafaei added it is premature to label the region as ‘historical’ without studying it first.

Previously, Fahraj Governor Gholamreza Nejat-Khaleqi announced that some 5,000 square meters of the site and its relics have been unearthed in a district called Negin Kavir.

Law enforcement forces have cordoned off the area, letting archeologists to dig up and determine the exact age of the site, Nejat-Khaleqi added.

Big, sprawling Kerman Province is something of a cultural melting pot, blending various regional cultures over the course of time. It is also home to rich tourist spots and historical sites including bazaars, mosques, caravanserais and ruins of ancient urban areas.

PHOTO: Vestiges of an old structure is seen after being unearthed by a massive sandstorm in Fahraj, Kerman Province on April 4, 2017.